IHM Sisters in prison ministry
These three stories offer just a glimpse into the deep and varied ways IHM Sisters are present in prison Ministry. While we highlight the experiences of three IHM Sisters, we acknowledge the many other IHMs who, over our 180 years, have walked alongside those impacted by incarceration-offering presences, prayer and the promise of new life.
The Prison Creative Arts Project exhibit is now open! IHM Art Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Click here for more details.
Peggy (Michael Francis) Devaney, IHM
It has been 45 years since the first female Oakland County Jail and Outreach Chaplain was hired by the Archdiocese of Detroit. That chaplain was me, Peggy Devaney, IHM. Supporting the ministry was the IHM community, the Committee for Justice at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Team for Justice in Detroit, Bishop Schoenherr, and Cardinal Dearden. At the time there was a heightened awareness of arrests related to non-violent peace protests in various parts of Oakland County and individuals were housed in the Oakland County Jail. Religious leaders and friends were not cleared or allowed jail access to visit jailed protesters.
I remember an IHM jailed at the peace protest. Deputies in the women’s division came to me because they were worried about Sister Shelia Gainey, IHM. (Shelia was like a beloved grandmother in her 10-woman cell.) Shelia was purchasing cigarettes and various other items. Deputies feared she was being pressured by the other women to buy items from the commissary. Shelia told me she “loves the girls” in the cell. They help her with various hair styles and suggestions. She purchased items to say “Thank You!” to her friends in the cell.
A few ministers in the heat of the drug war between Detroit and Pontiac focused on the place of most murders in Pontiac. We prayed at the worst sites of murder every Friday in Lent. We did leaflets in the neighborhood to let everyone know what we were doing.
On Good Friday families came into Pontiac from various churches in Oakland County to pray at 14 different assigned stations which were houses where murders had taken place. A blessing with holy water and purple ribbons reclaimed the land and we prayed for that family and neighborhood.
Forty-five years later, we know the family trees of many people we meet in jail outreach. We serve victims, offenders and families. We attempt to live out the perspective of Crime and Criminal Justice of Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration. (Catholic Jail and Prison Chaplains organized to pressure Bishops across the country and locally to develop this document in in 2000.)
As a pastoral care chaplaincy, we are in the neighborhood serving people in need. Many parishes, groups, and individuals share in the outreach needs in various ways. We are taught and serve the poor in the midst of unimaginable suffering and injustices. Walking with the poor is grounded in the Spirit and empowered by prayer and supported by the IHM Community. We offer and receive hope day by day.
Sister Peggy retired from jail chaplaincy recently but continues her connection to JOM with support for the organization and volunteers. The JOM Outreach office is located in the Riker Building in Pontiac, Mich.
Anne (Michael Ann) Wisda
At the age of 23, he lost his freedom forever — the “death” sentence of “Life Without Parole.” In his late 60s, he wrote to the IHM community to request a “Sister” to become his pen pal. I accepted. In his first letter in 2023, he expressed gratitude, sketched some flowers using pen, pencil, and crayons and decided he would write to his pen pal once a month. I responded with stories, events, prayers, affirmation and encouraged him to continue sketching pictures and creating puzzles.
My aim is to be a caring, supportive companion on his life’s journey. Pope Francis: “Life without parole is a hidden death penalty.”
Sister Anne continues to communicate with her pen pal. His work was included in the 2024 Exhibition of Artists in Michigan Prisons held in Ann Arbor.
Alice (Raphaela) Baker, IHM
Friends of Returning Citizens — FORC – has as its motto “Onward and Upward.” It has been a challenge and a joy to be a part of this growing organization in the city of Detroit. Founded in December, 2020, under the leadership of Father Norm Thomas, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Detroit, along with Craig Whilby and Jamil Allen, two men incarcerated as juveniles for over 30 years, and volunteers from the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance’s Community Action Committee, its status is now a non-profit, 501c3, with a Board of Directors.
Some services offered are individual and group counseling, opportunities for researching housing and jobs on the Internet, and receiving gently used clothing for women and men, free bus passes and more. Currently, the organization is moving to a nearby location because of flooding.
Information on ways to volunteer or support the ministry is available by calling 313-926-6770 or by clicking here. Yes, “Onward and Upward!”
Sister Alice has been working with FORC since its beginning in 2020. The IHM Ministry Grant Committee has provided financial support for the organization.
Prison Creative Arts Project: IHM’s Art Gallery
Striving for a free spirit within the confines of incarceration could be the theme of the next exhibit in the IHM Motherhouse Gallery: The Prison Creative Arts Project. This new exhibit features two-dimensional works in painting, graphite, pen and collage, as well as three-dimensional works made from a variety of materials. Up to 50 pieces will be included. Each work is created by incarcerated artists and made available to the public through the efforts of the University of Michigan community for artistic collaboration.
Every fall, teams of UM students, faculty and curators visit 25 Michigan Department of Corrections facilities to choose art created by incarcerated men and women. The pieces are judged for originality, uniqueness, commitment to the vision and personal expression. Those pieces then form the nucleus of an annual exhibit held each winter in Ann Arbor. From that show’s hundreds of art pieces, a smaller number are chosen to become a traveling exhibit during the rest of the year. This will be the second year the PCAP’s traveling exhibit will be hosted in the IHM Gallery.
Emily Chase, exhibition and curatorial manager for PCAP, meets face-to-face with almost every artist whose artwork is displayed. She said, “Throughout my career, I have been consistently drawn to working with people who are often forgotten or ostracized by society. This calling has taken me to a variety of roles.” She has worked with students expelled from traditional schools, adults experiencing homelessness, and an art studio for people with disabilities.
“A few years ago, this path led me to PCAP. In my time here, I have been continually struck by two things: First, that incarcerated individuals are often seen as the least deserving of humanity, when in fact, it is our humanity that holds the greatest potential to heal. Second, that even within the confines of prison, people are drawn to visual artmaking — perhaps because it offers one of the few spaces in which they can exercise agency and self-expression.”
She added that perhaps the most surprising take-away from her work is the humor she encounters amid the reminders of the grim day-to-day existence inside the prisons. Chatting and laughing together with an inmate led out in chains from solitary confinement is an indescribable experience. Still, the project’s website states that the art pieces are a “testament to the resilience of artists and the life-giving power of art under the most difficult of circumstances.”
The Prison Creative Arts Project’s opening reception at the IHM Gallery is Sept. 8, 2025 from 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. The exhibit will be on display through Oct. 17.
PCAP’s annual exhibition is open to the public and is slated for March 17 through March 31, 2026, at the Duderstadt Gallery at UM’s North Campus in Ann Arbor. More information will be available soon on social media and in promotional materials.